RIF Basics

Generally, civil service employees cannot be dismissed or have other major adverse actions taken against them except for cause, generally involving poor performance or misconduct. Employees have certain procedural rights regarding how those actions are taken and how they can be challenged.

A reduction in force or RIF is another avenue for separating, demoting, or furloughing an employee that is not based on any conduct of that employee, but based on the reasons specified above.

In fact, a RIF results in abolishing positions and may not be directed at specific individual employees.

What is a RIF?

A RIF exists when an agency takes certain personnel actions for certain reasons.

Those personnel actions are:

Separation from service

Demotion

Furlough (putting an employee in a non-work, non-pay status) for more than 30 days

The reasons are:

Lack of work;

Shortage of funds;

Insufficient personnel ceiling;

Reorganization (meaning the elimination, addition, or redistribution of functions or duties in an organization);

The exercise of reemployment rights; and/or

Reclassification of an employee's position due to erosion of duties after a RIF has been announced.